HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

I'm currently scarily close to 250 days *pretty much* refined sugar free. I use the phrase pretty much, as I do know it can be sneakily hidden in a few every day products, and I do on occasion enjoy a square of 90% Lindt chocolate (the type used in this recipe -but for 0.7g of refined sugar, I think I'll let it slide). When at first you tell people that you don't consume refined sugar, they tend to assume that you're either on a very strict diet or an intense weight loss regime, but in reality, I just try my best to live the healthiest and happiest life that I can realistically maintain 1. when stress kicks in, 2. on a student budget and 3. without completely depriving myself of food I consider to be yummy!

This is now my third attempt at cutting sugar, and by far the longest, but in total over the past 20 or so months I've been sugar free for approximately 15 of them, and as well as knowing that I've well and truly kicked my sugar addiction (coming from a girl who used to consume whole family sized bags of chocolate buttons instead of meals and struggling to get 5 vegetables a week let alone a day), I feel so much healthier and more energetic. But despite my own personal experience with cutting sugar, I'm not going to sit here and preach about why you should do the same: ultimately every one is different, every body reacts differently to food types, and it's up to you to decide how sugar makes your body feel. However, we all know that excess sugar consumption has adverse effects, and therefore, where possible if a usually sugar filled treat can be made so much healthier, why not give it a go?

Reeces Peanut Butter Cups were an absolute favourite of mine, so the other day I decided to improvise and make my own virtually sugar free versions!... Keep reading for the recipe.

Ingredients (Makes approximately 5 large peanut butter cups):

83g Lindt 90% dark chocolate50g Whole Earth smooth peanut butter

Nutrition (Per cup if made with same ingredients):

Calores: 163Fat: 14.6gCarbs: 3.2gSugar: 0.6gProtein: 4.3g

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie - break up 83g and place into a bowl over a pan of simmering water, gently stirring the chocolate to ensure it doesn't burn2. Once the chocolate has melted, turn the heat down on the hob so that the chocolate won't solidify but isn't becoming too hot3. Distribute half of the melted chocolate across five cup cake cases (I actually measured the weight of the melted chocolate and evenly divided it so I could accurately calculate macros, but if this isn't something that particularly bothers you you can just do it by eye!)4. Use a teaspoon to spread some of the chocolate up the sides of the cup cake cases (about 2cm)5. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes - every 5 minutes remove and re-spread the chocolate up the sides to create a thicker layer.6. Once the base is solid, place 10g of peanut butter in the centre of each case7. Add the remaining chocolate to the top and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes to set